A Humble Introduction

[Professor Shiori Nakamura]

It was less than a week before lessons were starting up and Shiori was settling back into old routines, getting classes organised, and looking forward to meeting the new and returning students. He also decided it would be apt to introduce himself to the other astronomy professor. He hadn't really interacted with the replacement last year, to his regret, and he wanted to get started on the right foot. Shiori made his way to Adorah's office, wondering if perhaps he should have gotten a welcoming back gift or if that would have been inappropriate since they didn't know each other - yet. He gave a knock on the office door, assuming she was in the office, but at that moment realising he didn't truly know. Shiori waited for a response nonetheless.

 

[Professor Adorah Zumwalt]

Adorah was still trying to get her office back in order. Thankfully, not much had changed, but it needed a good cleaning and freshen-up after her year away. She knew it had been used some, but she wanted to make it back into her space. Dressed in a baggy t-shirt that had some paint and oversized jeans, Adorah was standing on a chair making sure she got the last bit of dust off a shelf when she heard a rap at the door. She hadn't expected company but figured it might be Noel. "Come in," she said, carefully getting down from the chair and wiping some sweat off her forehead.

 

[Professor Shiori Nakamura]

Shiori opened the door and entered, closing it behind him. He gave a nervous smile to the other astronomy professor then notice she appeared to be in the middle of cleaning. "Ah, forgive my interruption," he said politely, then went on to explain his presence, "I'm Shiori Nakamura. I thought I'd come introduce myself. I'm the new - well, newish - astronomy professor for the upper years. It's a pleasure to meet you." He gave a bow, forgetting for a moment that Western manners didn't require bowing.

 

[Professor Adorah Zumwalt]

Adorah was surprised to see an older man enter the room, finally connecting who he was after a moment. She widened her eyes when the man bowed to her, something that felt pretty odd to have a person her senior do. "Nice to meet you, too," she said, wondering if she should be bowing or shaking hands - she decided to give an awkward small wave instead. "I'm Adorah Zumwalt. Were you here last year?" she asked, really unsure what had happened the prior year, as she hadn't really asked Noel about it much. She did learn that Professor Harrington left and didn't come back, something she had been saddened by, but she had sent her former professor an owl wishing her well a few weeks ago. "I was doing some additional education and am still catching up on things that I missed."

 

[Professor Shiori Nakamura]

Shiori felt faintly embarrassed as he realised he'd put her in the position of not knowing how to respond - but a wave did just fine in his opinion so he smiled to let her know that. "It is nice to meet you, Adorah," he said pleasantly, a little uncomfortable with using a first name but he knew it was the norm for New Zealand society. "And yes, last year was my first year. I'm afraid I wasn't too close to your substitute for that year but by all accounts he was perhaps a little eccentric." Shiori thought it might be a little rude to say so, but he said it before he could think the better of it. "Some additional education?" Shiori repeated, intrigued.

 

[Professor Adorah Zumwalt]

Adorah listened as Shiori described her substitute. The weird things she had found strewn about her office were starting to make more sense. She wondered if her students would be where they needed to be or if she would have to backtrack and review certain concepts. "That's good to know. I didn't know that Professor Harrington would have a substitute as well and that so much would change when I came back," she replied. Adorah figured if they were going to talk, they could sit. She started walking towards her desk and gestured towards a lavender chair that hadn't quite found it's place opposite her chair yet. It sat at an odd angle. "I went to university to finish up my teaching degree. I wanted more experience on being a better professor, and I learned about pedagogy, along with a lot of muggle subjects. I don't know if I'll use phonics to teach Astronomy, but I had a whole course about it at one point," she laughed. "Do you have a background in teaching?" she asked.